Khan Still Can Do

** 1/2CHAKA KHAN. “C.K.” Warner Bros. Once the lead singer of the biracial funk-rock band Rufus, Khan has inspired many “wanna-bes” in black music with her bold look and singing style. Even when she’s not at her peak, Khan has remained head and shoulders over competition--which is the case here.

This isn’t prime Khan, but there’s too much good material in “C.K.” to simply write off the album. Among the highlights: three songs which deal with the effects of substance abuse.

They include “It’s My Party,” in which a lover blames his philandering ways on too much alcohol, and the 1950 ballad, “The End of a Love Affair,” in which Khan turns to “a little too much” booze and cigarettes as a balm for life’s disappointments.

Miles Davis lends his trumpet styling on the Prince composition “Sticky Wicked”--which describes a woman so sidetracked by mind-altering excesses that she can’t remember her child’s name, while Brenda Russell contributed the infectious, Bobby McFerrin-embellished “Soul Talkin’.” Khan’s overall energy may be low, but this album will still give any “wanna-be” a run for her money.